SIMGOT EA500 Review | How do these new 92$ solid metal casing IEMs sound?

[Cuckoo Studio]

Welcome to Cuckoo Studio's review. I am Anzol. You will be watching this review from the perspective of a mixing engineer.

Below is the text and image content. If you prefer video version:

We received the SIMGOT EA 500 in-ear monitors that were sent to us. Let's take a look at its performance together.
The packaging of the EA500 is simple and sleek, with the official frequency response curve printed on the back.






After opening the package, the EA 500 appears prominently in front of us, with a mirror-plated design and a single alloy casting body weighing 10g. The materials are very solid and the replaceable cable design gives users more freedom for DIY.






But what's even more interesting is that the EA500 supports replacing the nozzles by yourself. This design can achieve two types of tuning, and it's also very convenient for cleaning after long-term use.



Let's take a look at its sound performance.
EA500's frequency response remains relatively flat from 400-4000Hz. There is a maximum 4dB gain in the 300-500Hz range, and there is also a maximum 4dB gain above 4kHz. The high-frequency peak at 13000Hz may not be noticed by some listeners due to differences in human ears. For me, it feels there is more high frequency. They are iems with a slight preference for low and high frequency gain. The difference between the black nozzles and the red nozzles are mainly concentrated in the middle and high frequencies, and there will be some subtle brightness differences between them, which can be chosen according to your own preference.




Distortion:
At 86dB normal sound pressure level, the distortion of EA500 is lower than normal environmental noise and will not be noticed in music listening scenarios. When the sound pressure level is increased to 96dB and 104dB, the distortion of EA500 is not as perfect as some expensive IEMs, but the small amount of distortion is not something to worry about too much. The distortion between left and right ears is also basically consistent.




Let's enter the Cuckoo Studio mixing space.
The gain of the low and mid frequencies slightly increases the bass, drums, and fundamental parts of vocal and instrumental sounds, but the magnitude is not very large. The gain of the mid and high frequencies increases the volume of breathing in vocals and high-frequency percussion instruments, and the spatial sensation above becomes more open. It's good for some songs with normal loudness, but for people like me who are sensitive to high frequencies, it may have too much high frequency feeling for loud dance music.
There is no noticeable imbalance problem in sound level difference, indicating that the quality control of EA500 is excellent. The symmetric frequency response of left and right ears brings a very solid center imaging.



At normal sound pressure level, the distortion does not cause any sound contamination or compression feeling. EA500 are very clean IEMs.
Although the high-frequency peak and low-frequency gain can cover up some of the fullness in the mid-frequency range,after calibration, a very satisfying sound playback result can be achieved.



Overall, EA500 is solid in materials, has restrained tuning, and provides the option of changing nozzles. With a not-so-high price point, it can be a great choice for users who want a high price-to-quality ratio.




This is Cuckoo Studio review. Please stay tuned. I will continue to explore the secret of headphones with you.

 

[NymPHONO]

 

[Paweł L]

I'm really thinking about getting a set of EA 500. Hopefully the tuning is similar to Sennheiser HD 6** series headphones but with a bit better bass extension and detail retrieval.

 

[redeyes]

Here is my graphing rig doing the Simgot. Purple is the stock Red bores. Red is the black bores with all the stuff removed and instead a Tanchjim Oxgen damper applied.

 

[DrIacozKnows]

Quite frankly, I don't see any reason to buy IEM more expensive than this.

 

[redeyes]

These IEMs are for sure the best things under about $200. I love em and I've tried a ton of iems.

 

[Keith_W]

It's moving towards winter in Australia right now and the thought of putting cold metal IEM's in my ears isn't very appealing. I usually like metal but in this case i'll go for plastic!

I am glad that this IEM has detachable cables though. Cables are a usual point of failure for IEM's (especially the solder joint between cable and IEM, and cable and headphone jack), so a dead cable does not mean a dead IEM.

What is interesting is comparing the advertised frequency response at the back of the box with what you measured:

Question: what test rig was Simgot using, and what test rig were you using?

 

[markanini]

It's moving towards winter in Australia right now and the thought of putting cold metal IEM's in my ears isn't very appealing. I usually like metal but in this case i'll go for plastic!

I am glad that this IEM has detachable cables though. Cables are a usual point of failure for IEM's (especially the solder joint between cable and IEM, and cable and headphone jack), so a dead cable does not mean a dead IEM.

What is interesting is comparing the advertised frequency response at the back of the box with what you measured:



Question: what test rig was Simgot using, and what test rig were you using?

I like box graphs, but might as well be hand drawn without further info. I only know of Moondrop and Truthear specifying the coupler.

 

[Strato007]

I have this EA500... I bought them blind... I was about to return them... Listen to various models (thanks Richard for that time) I could realize they are fantastic. Best purchase I made in last year.

Are there any EQ recommendation??

 

[delta76]

Now this is 79$. Performance/price wise how does this compare to Truthear Zero?

 

[Alexium]

Why compare to Zero? You have to compare them to the Hexa. Has anyone here heard both? I was going to buy the Hexa, but now I think I'll pull the trigger on the EA500. I've seen comments that EA500 have better resolution than the Hexa. Which should mean it's a lot better than Truthear Zero.

 

[markanini]

Why compare to Zero? You have to compare them to the Hexa. Has anyone here heard both? I was going to buy the Hexa, but now I think I'll pull the trigger on the EA500. I've seen comments that EA500 have better resolution than the Hexa. Which should mean it's a lot better than Truthear Zero.

Resolution isn't everything, sometimes makes it the tuning unpleasant at high volumes, so you have to consider if it's worth the trade off. Also it's quite subjective and depends on what someone is used to.

 

[Dunring]

I've had all three and both blue and red Truthear Zeros. Just a summary, the Zero Blue is best for music right out of the box. Terrific if you have a source and don't have access to equalizing. For gaming the bass distortion was too much in explosion heavy environments without a shelf filter to take it down some. The Hexa just wasn't worth the difference in price from the Zero blue. The Zero Red was as good or better, but vocals don't sound as lush on the blue, but you can go gaming with them stock without any distortion issues, explosions finish clean on the red.
The EA500 sounds more like the Truthear Zero blue with the red nozzles, and more like the Zero Red with the black nozzles. The treble does make itself known, when I went back to the Hifiman HE5xx I noticed the lack of brightness right away, coming from the EA500 with black nozzles. Foam tips help curb it to a small extent, and the Dunu S&S tips bumped out the soundstage at the cost of mid-range. Just have to be careful of the output impedance of your source and make sure it's less than 1/8th of the IEMs or it'll change the sound for the worse. I tried it with a Topping DX3Pro+ and won't be using one of those for IEMs again.
I think people mistake treble emphasis for detail. On all of them I could hear the first word spoken before the music even starts in Fleetwood Macs "The Chain" and the last two sentences Micheal Jackson speaks after the music fades in his song PYT Pretty Young Thing. On a Topping E50/L30 II none had any magic details revealed I couldn't hear on the others (volume matched).
The Hexxa just wasn't enough of an upgrade to justify the cost. The EA500 delivers but not good if you're treble sensitive. Truthear Zero is lush for vocals, lower notes of a piano have authority, and violins sound accurate. The red is for gamers who dwell in explosion rich environments and sometimes listen to music, but I wouldn't use those because they sound thinner for vocals. They're technically more advanced, but not as good for casual listening.

 

[Paweł L]

As Durning comments about IEMs brightness, one time when I listened to friend's TRN V90 '7 driver IEM', after pulling them out of my ears I told him I will fix them, I just need a good hammer. Terrible IEM, bright, with some boomy bass, no mids - ear torture device.

 

[markanini]

As Durning comments about IEMs brightness, one time when I listened to friend's TRN V90 '7 driver IEM', after pulling them out of my ears I told him I will fix them, I just need a good hammer. Terrible IEM, bright, with some boomy bass, no mids - ear torture device.

A large segment of the IEM market is just stuffing off the shelf parts together, writing up a captivating ad copy, and giving zero though to acoustic tuning and listening impressions.